In the fast food industry, it may desired to prepare sandwiches with a given amount sandwich filling. Typical serving implements, such as a spoon or scoop, address this need by dispensing a given volume of food. For example, a typical serving implement such as a spoon or scoop may include a head that holds 15 mL. Therefore, if a user fills the entire volume of a spoon head or scoop to the top, 15 mL of material will be served. The material to be served may be a liquid or a solid, such as tuna salad or cheese. Such materials may not fill the entire volume of the head, and may mound over the top of the head. These implements provide a quick means of approximating the amount of material that is provided per serving.
Another approach is disclosed in United States Patent Application Publication 2007/0034421 to Ho et al., which describes a weighing spoon. The spoon comprises a head for holding the material to be served, and a stem extending from the head. The stem includes a battery powered electronic weighing sensor, and an LCD display on the top of the stem for displaying the weight. In order to use the spoon, the user places the material in the bowl, holds the stem in a horizontal position, and reads the weight from the LCD display.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,576,521 to Dubach discloses another weighing implement. The implement is a ladle with a scoop, and as such, when material is held in the bowl, the stem of the ladle extends vertically. The stem includes a spring scale, which displays the weight of the material in the bowl when the stem is held or hung from the end distal to the bowl.